Heartbeat
by Matutolypea
Summary: In which Komatsu ends up separated from the 3 Heavenly Kings... Winding up with Zebra


A/N - None

Contains: Zebra/Komatsu, hinted Toriko/Komatsu

1626 Words

Rating: T

* * *

Heartbeat

"No, Matsu's comin'wi me!"

"Getting heated won't solve anything, Sani. Please try to accept that Komatsu-kun will be much safer with me."

"Guys, he's a part of my Combo! Doesn't that mean-"

"Quit chatting shit, Toriko! Once I surpass your stinking full-course the kid'll be in a combo with me!"

Komatsu sat back, staring on with a blank expression. He had long ago ceased any futile attempts to calm them down, instead sitting on the floor of the cave, waiting for the dispute to end. Naturally, this meant that an unavoidable fight was on the horizon, but Komatsu held a serving of hope that the magnitude of the situation at hand might (for once) give them some incentive to comply with one another. Multiple times Komatsu had tried approaching one of them, patting them lightly on the shoulder and smiling as earnestly as he was able, only to be shoved back and unintentionally blasted with their intimidation. Rather ironic, when considering that it was him they were arguing over.  
"It really doesn't matter who I travel with..." Komatsu wined, cradling his knees in his arms. "I'd be happy with any of you, can we please go before something attacks us again?" Of course he could have stopped the argument by choosing a king to travel with, but he couldn't bear the feeling of guilt that would remain, were he to leave the other 3 kings feeling betrayed and put-down. Komatsu often pondered why Toriko and the others felt so strongly for him anyway, as he'd only ever looked on himself as clumsy and in the way.

"I've been with him the least, so you can all fuck off and leave him alone."

"Actually, Zebra... I think you'll find you've spent more time with him than I have."

Turning to face Coco, Zebra's scowl deepened, and his scarred mouth seemed to stretch even further than normal. Feeling the usual rage bubble up and surface, Zebra towered over Coco, baring his teeth. Before the chance came to speak, however, a shock tore through the cave. Pebbles and stones crumbled from the wall, bouncing and dancing on the floor as vibrations shook the ground. Zebra cocked his head, hearing the clamour of heavy footsteps far before the others were able. Toriko was the first to smell it, his head swivelling to the left and peering down the passage next to them. Sani suddenly flinched, it's huge hulking form entering the vast 50m range of his dining kitchen, coming into contact with his feelers. Finally, Coco's eyes picked up on its form, large and lumbering, as it swaggered down the passage.

"Tch, a tot'ly not beaut'ful entrance..." Sani cursed as he came forward, standing directly in the beast's path.

"Given, it really is a pain." Coco muttered, joining him. "Toriko, Zebra... It can't be helped, I suppose. One of you take Komatsu-kun and head on, me and Sani will stop the beast here and join you afterwards."

"W-Wha?! I didn't agree t'that! You wait here, don't go anywhere, Matsu!" Sani protested, turning and flailing his arms at Komatsu in a rare display of vulgarity.

Out of nowhere, an extra large tremor shook the cavern. Sani and Coco were just out of the danger zone, but almost instantly the ceiling dropped post-shock, falling straight down on Zebra, Toriko and Komatsu. With a scream, Komatsu instinctively retracted into a ball, grabbing his head and sheltering it with his hands. Toriko reached out to grab his partner, falling but a meter short when ton after ton of solid rock crashed down and blocked his path. No longer worried for his own safety, Toriko immediately began tearing into the rock, clawing into the gaps and holes and wrenching the rock apart.

"Komatsu!"

His cry pierced the eerie silence that had consumed the cavern since the cave-in, determined and full of emotion. "Komatsu, are you okay?!"

There was a brief silence, followed by a small meagre cry, one that reached right down to Toriko's heart – calming the erratic beat that was constricting his chest.

"Toriko-san!"

"Komatsu!"

"I'm fine, Toriko-san! Zebra-san shielded me just in time!"

"I'm so glad, Komatsu! I'm blocked off from Sani and Coco, but I'm going to try and find a way around so I can help, okay?"

"Of course! Try your best, Toriko-san, and we'll see you at the entrance!"

A deeper, grating voice pitched into the conversation. "Toriko, try not to die on the way, you bastard!" Zebra grinned, finding the look of shock that crossed Komatsu's face incredibly amusing.

* * *

"Zebra-san..."

Komatsu's voice broke through the darkness, timid and shaking. "Zebra-san, are the others going to be okay?" Though it was dim, Komatsu could still see relatively well, and caught Zebra shrugging his shoulders before grunting. He held little interest in fights that weren't his own, and Komatsu felt sure that Zebra held enough faith in the others to not doubt their strength... Against others than himself, that is.

Komatsu's heart started beating ever so slightly faster, fearing the dark and the silence, but fearing stirring the anger that slept (never far from the surface) in Zebra even more. Starting, or at least trying to start a conversation was out of the question. Stumbling on a small step, Komatsu let out a high pitched shriek as he stumbled, falling not into cold, hard rock, but a firm (and much warmer) arm.

"Z-Zebra-san!" Komatsu found himself crying, as if the sound of the name itself calmed his nerves. "Thank you..."

Not moving, Komatsu stayed in his position, his tiny fingers clutching onto Zebra's hand as if he were too scared to let go. Zebra's own heart beat started to pick up in pace, and he silently thanked the dim lighting, glad that Komatsu was unable to see the slight flush spread across his otherwise grim face.

"Kid, you okay?" He muttered gruffly, kneeling down to Komatsu's height. To Zebra's surprise, Komatsu detached from his arm the moment his knees hit the ground, nuzzling his face into Zebra's chest instead. "S-Sorry!" Was all Komatsu could choke out, his voice shaky and tense. A wave of an emotion that Zebra had never encountered before washed over him, leaving the king lost for words. Surely, the only time he ever showed interest in something or someone was when it

A. Pissed him off, or

B. Looked tasty

… The smell drifting from Komatsu's clothes was indeed fine, and the strong scent of spices and high-quality ingredients stuck to his person, so strong that Zebra didn't need a nose like Toriko's to inhale a deep breath that was filled with warmth and flavour. But this wasn't one of those feelings. It was new; it was _alien._.. And Zebra was completely at a loss as to how he should deal with it.

"Zebra-san... Do you think the others will be okay?" Komatsu's tiny voice rang out with such clarity, with such strength, Zebra found it hard to believe that it was coming from such a meek and plain body. "I mean, I know they're all strong... But I can't shake this feeling that something's going to happen." Even though it was muffled through Zebra's chest, he could pick up the worry in Komatsu's voice, and sense the steadily quickening pace of his fragile heart beat as it pumped within his chest.

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

"Zebra-san, are you listening?" Komatsu mumbled, lifting his head from Zebra's chest and staring directly into his eyes. Zebra suddenly found that he no longer had control over his actions. His hands groped and felt in the dark, fumbling at Komatsu's back and waist, pulling him closer into his embrace. Komatsu's eyes widened in the dark, the sudden shock of Zebra's rough, scarred lips touching his own. Soon relaxing, Komatsu found himself melting into Zebra's grip, his heart beat steadily getting faster and faster, and his hands lifting, his fingers sifting and sorting through Zebra's messy hair, taking a deep comfort in the taste, and the smell... More so than he did with normal ingredients. Though his body was small and frail, and Zebra's so large and bulky, Komatsu no longer felt worried or afraid of being crushed by his presence. He felt _safe. _A muffled groan escaped from Zebra's cracked lips as he scooped Komatsu up, standing back to his full height and supporting Komatsu from below. Komatsu wrapped his arms around Zebra's thick muscled neck, only drawing his face back for the occasional intake of air.

"You still worried about the others, Kid; or d'you want me to go back and check?" Zebra eventually spoke, his gruff voice slicing the tension like a knife.

"N-No..." Komatsu admitted, laughing a little under his breath. "I'm sure they'll be fine..."

* * *

"Hm! Serves ya' right, y'disgust'n thing!" Sani yelled, stamping on the head of the monster with his pink heel. Panting, and covered in dirt, the other three kings had found themselves more than occupied with the beast, Coco even predicting its capture level to be in the high 70's.

"Still." Toriko continued, "Now we're done, we should go find Zebra and Komatsu."

Coco chuckled under his breath. "Are you worried, Toriko?"

"Nah," Toriko responded, cracking his neck. "I just wanna make sure that Zebra's not convincing Komatsu out of our combo."

"Well..."

"Well what?"

Recalling the premonition Coco had experienced before entering the cave, he grinned, trying not to let the smile turn to a bout of laughter. "By my reckoning, you have a 3% chance."


End file.
